Norfolk

Norfolk. 1. A maritime county of England, bounded by the North Sea on the N. and E., Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire on the W., and Suffolk on the S.; area 2,119 square miles. The greatest distance from N. to S. is 70 miles, and the extreme breadth 43 miles. The land adjoining the sea-coast, which is over 90 miles in length, is in almost all parts low and flat; but in the interior the surface, though it nowhere rises to any great height, is undulating and well wooded. Much destruction is caused by the encroachments of the sea, but along the shores of the Wash (q.v.) an extensive tract of good land has been reclaimed. The chief rivers are the Yare, which rises in the centre of the county and flows E., with its tributaries the Waveney and the Bure, and the Ouse, which flows N. to the Wash near the west border. Much of the E. part of the county is composed of the shallow lakes called Broads (q.v.). The soil consists for the most part of light sand and loam. Ever since Lord Townshend (q.v.) introduced high farming on his estate at Rainham, Norfolk has taken a leading place amongst the agricultural counties; winter roots, especialljr, are cultivated with great success. There is good pasture-land along the banks of the rivers and on the Cambridgeshire border, and many turkeys and geese are reared for the London markets. The most noted of the numerous fisheries along the coast is the herring industry at Yarmouth.

Norfolk contains the city of Norwich, the parliamentary and municipal borough of Kings Lynn, most of that of Great Yarmouth, and the greater part of the municipal borough of Thetford. 2. A city and port of entry in Virginia, United States, on Elizabeth river, an arm of Chesapeake Bay, 75 miles S.E. of Richmond. Several railways and canals converge here, and there is communication by steamers with New York, Richmond, etc. Norfolk has a large naval yard, and carries on a considerable, trade in cotton, fruit, vegetables, oysters, maize, and sugar.